The Ceres Blaze eight-and-under travel baseball team had a memorable finish to the 2025 season.
The Blaze finished first overall at the Arsenal Last Kings of Summer Tournament, which was staged Aug. 15-17 at Costa Fields in Ceres.
Ceres collected three wins and one tie at the tournament.
All three of the Blaze’s victories were via mercy rule.
“To me, I wasn’t surprised with how we played,” head coach Ismael Ontiveros said. “I was surprised with how we blew teams out in the playoff round on Sunday. We made a final statement. We showed how much we improved this year.”
Blaze utility player Andrew “Chubs” Santillan was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
He totaled nine hits in four games.
He logged playing time at shortstop, catcher and pitcher.
“He stood above the rest,” Ontiveros said. “He literally took over the tournament. He set the tone on defense with some pretty unbelievable plays. His hitting was off the charts.”
Ceres pitcher/infielder Parker “Park City” Armstrong claimed the chain MVP award.
Armstrong had seven hits.
“His effort was so good the whole weekend so we rewarded him with the chain,” Ontiveros said. “He pitched incredible and played really good at third base.”
Ceres cruised to a 12-3 win over Hollister in the championship game on Aug. 17.
“It was a close game until the end,” Ontiveros said.
The Blaze bested Factory Elite 10-2 in the semifinals on Aug. 17.
Ceres defeated Central Valley Elite 14-1 and tied Factory Elite 6-6 on Aug. 16.
The Blaze placed in six of nine tournaments this summer.
Ceres took first four times and second twice.
“We played a lot of baseball,” Ontiveros said. “There were some major improvements with our kids. They worked very hard.”
Santillan, Armstrong, Owen Gregg, Tate Jimenez, Camden Johnson, Carter Jones, Misael Mora, Alex Ramirez, Silas Rodriguez, Preston Stewart, Eriberto Valencia and AJ Vallesteros made up the Blaze’s 12-person roster.
“This team is comprised of rec ball players,” Ontiveros said. “We showed we belonged in the travel atmosphere.”
